Macedon Ranges
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Growth target set for state
Macedon Ranges Shire is expected to accommodate an additional 12,700 houses by 2051 in the Victorian Government’s latest draft housing targets. Last week Premier Jacinta Allan announced the draft targets for each local government area in the Housing Statement as part of a vision for Victoria’s next 30 years. The Premier said Victoria had the…
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Highest rate of trauma
Macedon Ranges has the highest rate of wildlife road trauma in the state, adding to a strain on Wildlife Victoria’s services. CEO Lisa Palma said since 2019, more than 4000 native animals had been struck by cars in the Macedon Ranges alone. The organisation experienced a 46 per cent increase in state-wide incidents over that…
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Echuca winners
Macedon Ranges horse trainers had success at Echuca races on Friday. Charles Cassar saddled up Factually for a good win in a BM58 Handicap. Ridden by Paul Gatt, the five-year-old mare finished well to beat rank outsider Debit Credit by 0.2 length. After the race Cassar said owners Robert Patterson, Darren Howe and Lynn St…
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Biography program comes to the Ranges
Older people living in aged care residences in the Macedon Ranges can now have their precious memories recorded in a biography to share with families and friends. The biography is produced free of cost by trained volunteers from the not-for-profit organisation, Beyond Words. Beyond Words chairman, Richard Hill, said the program provided an important, life-affirming…
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Gardens identity crisis
Hundreds of trees and plants in Macedon Ranges botanical gardens have gone unidentified for users for years. Friends of Kyneton Botanic Gardens hopes to change that with a Gravotech laser engraving machine to create purpose-fit plaques. The group made a submission for $13,590 funding for the project in the Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s 2024-25 budget.…
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Ballet’s rising star: Laura Griffiths puts Australian Ballet under a spell
Gisborne-raised ballet dancer Laura Griffiths has returned home from London as one of the newest arrivals to The Australian Ballet.
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Laps for mental health
Swimmers are preparing to make laps for youth mental health awareness and suicide prevention in the Lap it Up challenge from October 1-15. The challenge began in 2018 when father-daughter duo, Sean and Kirsten McKinney, hosted an event at Gisborne with the aim to run a continual relay and swim 2866 laps – being the…
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Dogs seized from alleged illegal breeding property
RSPCA’s major investigations team seized 29 dogs and puppies from a Macedon Ranges property last Monday. The seizure is the latest development in an ongoing major investigation into a network of alleged illegal dog breeding. Inspectors attended the rural property, with assistance from Macedon Ranges Shire Council officers, and seized the dogs due to animal…
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Foodbanks facing increased demand
Sam Irvine Foodbanks in the Macedon Ranges are facing unprecedented demand for their services as the cost-of-living crisis worsens, but volunteers say strong community networks are helping to ease the burden. Volunteering Victoria’s CEO, Thu Trang Tran, said volunteer-led organisations across regional Victoria were facing increasingly difficult circumstances. “Services are isolated, volunteers and staff are…
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Harvest to begin for Macedon Ranges wine region
After a long and challenging year, the winemakers of the Macedon Ranges are finally seeing the approach of vintage 2023, just around the corner. It has been a very wet year for most wine regions but with any luck Macedon producers might get their way with another good year – assuming that the weather holds…
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Rare sighting of live brushtailed phascogale captured in Kyneton
The unusual observation of a live brushtailed phascogale in Kyneton was captured on day one of nest box monitoring across the Macedon Ranges last week. Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s annual program typically records animal scats and vacant nests, with phascogale activity a strong interest. Biodiversity projects officer Tanya Loos said phascogales were a vulnerable species…
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Citizen of the Year honoured
Sue Anderson has made thousands of rescues in more than 20 years as a wildlife carer. Last week the Gisborne resident was honoured for her tireless work as Macedon Ranges’ Citizen of the Year. No two rescues are the same and being nimble is almost a prerequisite for the job when rescues can involve anything…